Weekending. On Wednesday.

Now that the Monday holiday and Ten On Tuesday have passed I can fill you in on my extended weekend.

Undoubtedly, the most exciting thing I did this weekend was trade in my CrossTrek for an Outback. My lease was up on the CrossTrek so on Friday I went to see my favorite car salesperson – just to get my options. I have been debating for weeks whether I wanted to just give back the CrossTrek and not get anything (I can always drive the Mustang, especially since summer is coming) or whether I wanted to take the plunge and buy something or whether I wanted to lease another Subaru. Let’s just say they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I am now leasing a fully loaded 2016 Outback for $50 less per month than I was paying before. Winning!

I wasn’t planning on getting red (I really wanted black) but this offer was color specific and too good to pass up just based on color. You may recall that we have had a red Outback before and, in that spirit, we have named the new car Ruby 2.0.

This whole process took up the better part of my Friday but I came home and surprised Dale with the new car and that was very cool. It delayed our Friday night snacks but knowing we had an extra long weekend ahead of us made that pretty bearable. What I pulled together had a decidedly Mexican twist since we were both lamenting the fact that for the last 3 years we have gone to Mexico for April vacation. We made the decision not to go this year quite some time ago and, while we’re both fine with that decision, we still have had lots of moments when we have wished we were there.

Tequila, shrimp, pico de gallo and taquitos along with a Mexican themed playlist helped a bit. Okay, the tequila helped the most.

On Saturday evening we had dinner with friends. Burgers and flights of beer made for a fun night!

On Sunday we finally got the warm weather they had been promising. I set up a hummingbird feeder, headed to Lowe’s for paint samples (I’ve actually lost track of how many times I’ve been to Lowe’s in the last week or so) and Dale painted.

By late afternoon we were ready for a break and some fun. Next thing I knew we had beers and the deck furniture was set up and we were soaking up some sun.

We ended the evening with a fire in the firepit with friends. It was great to be outside and not be freezing, I can tell you that.

Monday started out quite warm and we had coffee on the deck for the first time this season. What a treat! I spent most of the morning out there, reading and relaxing while Dale kept his nose to the grindstone and painted away.

Like Sunday we were ready for a break by mid afternoon and we headed out to check out refrigerators (again) and cruise around in the Mustang for a bit.

We wound up at a new-ish place for drinks and apps, including bacon infused bourbon. That was definitely not a disappointment!

And now it’s the middle of the week. We are still contemplating refrigerator options (I told you it’s easier to buy a car!) and working on the bathroom (the concrete sink looks pretty good but updating that lead to extra stuff like painting) and I’m hoping we can squeeze in some more fun stuff, too, since Dale is off for the rest of the week.

Hi Carol! My daughter (almost 24) drives a 5-speed 2006 Forester that I bought new when she was 13 with the intent that she take it over when she started driving. It is my 4th Subaru, and while it is not red, Grace named her RubySue and calls her Ruby, of course. Love me a Subaru!!! (I drive a Maxima named ‘Max’ and a ’96 red VW Cabrio named ‘Red’. I’m not very creative with car names, obviously.)

Don’t know what fridge you are looking at, but I don’t recommend a Samsung. I bought a French-door Samsung ($$$) 4 years ago and within 2 years it needed a repair. When I called my appliance guy, who’d been repairing my washer & dryer for years, he said he didn’t work on Samsungs because the parts were expensive and hard to get. I had to call around until I found someone who would work on it. If you have an appliance guy and you are looking at a Samsung, it might be a good idea to talk to him first. Good luck!

Love your blog. I just don’t comment very often but know that I’m out here, reading and enjoying sharing your life!

we had to make an emergency fridge purchase a few years ago. My advice is to be super happy with the interior layout. A fridge design that fits the way you use it can make a smaller fridge feel roomier than a large one that does not.

Lots going on – all looks good! Everyone I know who drives a Subaru loves them and won’t go back to any other vehicle. Yuengling looks wonderful and bourbon with a bacon flavor – YUM!!! We had a fire in our pit on Saturday night — what a great way to relax.

Your Mexican food had my mouth watering–did you get the recipes from a particular source? Our weekend was one big snow dump, but that was okay because I spent it with my knitting homies in a lovely mountain lodge. Excited for the warm weekend ahead lol!

I’ve been saying for years that we’re going to need a new fridge, and having even been looking, but unless I can talk my resident handyman into a little bit of remodeling, our choices are going to be limited mostly by height… it’s good to have some parameters? Why do all the cool refrigerators (hehe) only come in tall??